Synthesist + Re-Synthesist, by Harald Grosskopf

Synthesist + Re-Synthesist

by Harald Grosskopf

supported by

Chris Fox The Berlin School was my breakaway from rock after rock went sour. Harmonica, Neu!, Cluster, Klaus Schulze. Grosskopf was right in the middle, this really takes me back.

N B (MC URINATE) A classic album. Favorite track: Synthesist.

Eve McGivern A classic of German electronic music. Favorite track: Synthesist.

Carsten Pieper Pure nostalgia, this one. When I startet "seriously" listening music, "Schwingungen", a WDR radio programme dealing with electronic music, moderated by the great Winfrid Trenkler, was my favourite radio show. "So weit, so gut" (so far, so good) was the opening theme for about ten years. I had it on tape (radio, tape, anyone remembering these ?) but never on vinyl or CD. When I noticed, this is on Bandcamp, I definitely had to get it!
Tracks 1 to 8 from Synthesist, 1980. the rest are remixes. Favorite track: So Weit, So Gut.

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
Synthesist 12" LP + Re-Synthesist CD
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Synthesist + Re-Synthesist via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	So Weit, So Gut 05:22	buy track
2.	B. Aldrian 04:59	buy track
3.	Emphasis 04:57	buy track
4.	Synthesist 07:36	buy track
5.	1847-Earth 06:49	buy track
6.	Trauma 06:36	buy track
7.	Transcendental Overdrive 04:54	buy track
8.	Tai Ki 03:44	buy track
9.	Bronze - So Weit, So Gut 05:06	buy track
10.	CFCF - B. Aldrian 04:55	buy track
11.	Jar Moff - B. Aldrian 03:36	buy track
12.	Arp - Emphasis 07:46	buy track
13.	JD Twitch - Emphasize 05:18	buy track
14.	Blondes - Synthesist 06:02	buy track
15.	Snoretex - Synthesist 06:46	buy track
16.	Stellar Om Source - 1847-Earth 05:03	buy track
17.	Oneohtrix Point Never - Trauma 2010 03:29	buy track
18.	Keyhole Viewer - WISHMASTER (Transcendental Overdrive) 07:34	buy track
19.	Pink Skull - Tai Ki 06:21	buy track

about

Synthesist is the debut album by Harald Grosskopf, the enigmatic percussionist behind Ash Ra Tempel, Klaus Schulze, and Cosmic Jokers. Originally released by Sky Records in 1980, RVNG Intl. celebrates the 30th year anniversary with this newly mastered and packaged reissue.

Berlin, Germany, summer of 1979, Harald Grosskopf, then 30 years old, was at a personal and creative crossroads. His girlfriend just left him, and Ashra (Manuel Göttsching's "solo" project) was on temporary hiatus. Harald always considered himself a rhythmic accomplice to his numerous collaborators' lead, until prompted by some fellow musician friends to pursue a singular creative vision.

Armed with a MiniMoog and Revox reel-to-reel, Grosskopf set off for the West German countryside that fall and isolated himself in a home studio for almost two months to record Synthesist. The temperamental analog synthesizer and sequencing technology created a long learning curve eventually resulting in a harmonious union of man and machine.

The human response undeniably colors the eight songs of Synthesist and aligns the album with some of the more melodic output of the Berlin School of Electronic Music. The title track and "Transcendental Overdrive" almost take on pop qualities. Harald's live percussion opens up tracks like "So Weit, So Gut" and "Emphasis" for jammed out exploration. Where the album veers into the ambient space clusters of "B. Aldrian" or "Trauma", it's hard not to consider Synthesist the nexus of Krautrock, Kosmische, and New Age.

Re-Synthesist, the companion compilation to Synthesist, is an assemblage of reinterpretations of Grosskopf's work by a new vanguard of electronic and experimental artists including Oneohtrix Point Never, Blondes, Arp, Stellar Om Source, CFCF, James Ferraro, and many others.

Although Synthesist has been unavailable on vinyl for almost three decades, it doesn't fetch unfathomable collector fees. Selecting Synthesist as our first reissue is more about the connectivity to a new audience than the scarcity fetish for a select few. It's about sharing Harald's story and celebrating an album musically accomplished and compelling from start to end.

The Synthesist LP comes as a deluxe package on post-consumer recycled goods, including a unique reverse bound record jacket and full color liner notes by Harald Grosskopf in English and German. The Re-Synthesist compilation is only available with vinyl purchase, both available digitally through our usual storefront suspects.

More info at:

shop.igetrvng.com/collections/rvng-releases/products/rervng01

credits

released February 15, 2011

license

about

RVNG Intl. New York, New York

friend to friend in endtime

rvng.com

contact / help

Contact RVNG Intl.

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Synthesist + Re-Synthesist, you may also like:

Trans-Millenia Music
by Pauline Anna Strom

supported by 35 fans who also own “Synthesist + Re-Synthesist”

Je viens juste de découvrir une mine d'or avec l'œuvre de cette dame. Écoutez tous ses albums de A à Z et vous redeviendrai zen! Lavinie Cloutier
go to album
FRKWYS Vol. 13: Sunergy
by Suzanne Ciani & Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

supported by 35 fans who also own “Synthesist + Re-Synthesist”

loving it to illustrate a rooftop dance Jessie Woletz
go to album
Everywhere at the end of time
by The Caretaker

supported by 30 fans who also own “Synthesist + Re-Synthesist”

Actually astounding and emotionally moving, creating a community that I have been proudly a part of for 2 years OrsonXD
go to album
Talitakum
by Avalanche Kaito

The Belgian-Burkinabe electro-punk trio burst to life with an incendiary, shapeshifting sound. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 17, 2024
go to album
Walk Thru Me
by The Folk Implosion

Lou Barlow & John Davis return as Folk Implosion, with 10 more songs that are sweetly tuneful. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 17, 2024
go to album
Résonance
by Kalhex

Hip-hop from Paris that luxuriates in laid-back grooves and an unhurried rhyme style. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 17, 2024
go to album
A Period of Review (Original Recordings: 1975 - 1983)
by K. Leimer

supported by 27 fans who also own “Synthesist + Re-Synthesist”

Heard and loved via the John Was Trying To Contact Aliens documentary with much more otherworldly greatness to discover beyond it. Roberta Fidora
go to album